Nature Vs Nurture
by Iseijin
Summary: It has been many years since the first encounter of humans and Xenomorphs, and a second-rate team of veteran operatives will soon find out that maybe the two are not that different after all...
1. Rocky Road

Disclaimer: All known characters belong to their respective owner(s); unknown characters belong to me. I am not making any profit from this project. This story is purely to entertain.

Setting: Many years had passed since the first recorded human encounter with the Xenomorph species and like many previously dreaded animals, with knowledge, fear was replaced by respect (albeit with a still healthy amount of fear). Curiosity seemed insatiable for the exploitment of the Aliens for human benefit. Yet if history taught us anything is that to benefit a few, many thing are to be sacrificed first.

_NATURE VS. NURTURE_

CHAPTER I – Rocky Road, Not Just an Ice-cream Flavor.

It all dates to those nights she would spend sitting in front of the computer watching the rogue Aliens on the screen while trying to catch noodles from her fork, the plate neatly resting on her folded knees; dropping the fork on the plate every now and then to scribble notes on a nearby notebook. Straining to see in the comforting glow of the machine, striving to fathom Alien ways – in both sense of the word: Alien as in the species and their alien ways to humans. She knew instinctively she had chanced upon something important but for the life of her she could not put her finger on it.

It had been many years since the humans had called these creatures "bugs". The word was still widely used, but only as a derogatory term for these Xenomorphs. She would never consider insulting her study subjects in such a manner.

Dora Lismore, an isolated woman of 39, was learning the language of Aliens.

In the wild lands of Nostlinger the soil is soft and cool when it was not layered under countless inches of snow with a few far away mountains to break the monotony of the landscape and the only greens considered here were large, bony trees that never sprouted leaves. These lands have been aptly known as NeverGreen country.

Dora's vigils were marked by the solitude of her chambers shielded from her teammates and separated from the frozen wasteland. She felt as if she could be right there amongst them yet their cryptic language could translate to little more than grunts and hisses.

She remembered an elder drone with a severe scar running down its face stopping at the edge of its snarling mouth; Grandpa, as it was known among the operatives. Clearly a superior of some sort due to its larger-than-average body size, it was disciplining an unruly drone that had been roughing up its comrades. She vividly recalled how Grandpa had squared off with the younger one, its spine rigid and head pointing arrow-like at the adolescent. When the younger one did not back down the elder lunged at it and drove it nearly 300 yards away from their makeshift Nest under the snow, into the cold outside. No longer full of itself the younger one began to turn its head towards the ground, mouth opened and clamping, until it was allowed to return to the group again; but only when Grandpa saw fit to do so.

A knock on the wall interrupted her train of thoughts and she spun around on the chair, a noodle hanging from the corner of her mouth, to see Andrew Coleman standing on the doorway. The light from the hall created a long shadow from where he stood.

Andrew was a young man of 37 (as young as 37 can be). He was tall with the classic physique of a bodybuilder: wide shoulders, thighs for arms, the kind of guy you would expect to crush your spine in half but then surprise you with dexterity and grace. Black, unruly hair was hopelessly tied in a small ponytail and proudly displayed his stubble. A black turtleneck – in which he would roll up the sleeves – and blue jean pants were his choice of clothing. Always.

She didn't mind seeing him in the same clothes everyday as long as he washed them regularly.

"Yeah?" she poised halfheartedly.

He flashed a smile. "Would the bat mind coming out of her cave to the outside world in order to join the rest of her comrades for dinner?" He always smiled when he was sarcastic. "C'mon Dora, Winnie actually made something edible this time."

Dora slurped a noodle up and returned to her computer.

"I'm busy," she said simply.

She heard him sigh. "You're always busy. A little socialization won't kill you – and don't say anything to that. Where'd you get the noodles? Aren't you the one that gets the stomachaches from eating those?"

She held up the empty styrofoam cup of InstaNoodles and made dinging noises of a microwave.

"Nice. Fine, do whatever the hell you want but Winnie's gonna chew you out for that." With that he left.

Dora gave all her attention back to the grainy images on the screen and "her" Aliens.

No one is sure how these creatures came to happen on this planet but talk from the higher-ups leaks out more often than a holed barrel and the rumors say something about an aborted mission in which the crew got infected with the parasites and Headquarters cut them off, desperate they tried an emergency landing but they got gunned down…

"Yada, yada, yada…" she muttered.

At first, Headquarters were more than eager to collect the specimens but drones and face-huggers were not of much value – they wanted a Queen – and the sampling assignment would come to a hiatus until they found a use for them. They did not dare bring the specimens into a large human settlement but would not get rid of them for the slim chance of a Queen emerging amongst the creatures. They had several military outposts much closer to Aliens but as time went by and funding decreased they replaced them with two "mini-colonies", one on either perimeter, consisting of a miniscule crew of 5 to 7 members to track and monitor the Aliens, to make sure of their well-being and that they remain within their allowed territory.

Kind of like a freaky zoo.

For 10 years the Aliens had not migrated more than 20 yards from their original site.

Dora sighed and leaned back on the chair, blowing strands of her cropped hair away from her face. Four years of observing Aliens and all they had unearthed was the bare surface.

A delicious aroma soon filled the room from the ventilators. Andrew was right, she thought, whatever Winnie was cooking ought to be as good as it smells. The smell was extremely tempting and she found herself smiling at the thought of what could be cooking yet Winnie (her real name being Abigail Kettle, but she insisted on being called Winnie) had been known to prepare something that smelled delicious only to mask the true taste of it. Fresh food hadn't been part of their menu for weeks, they were reduced to the leftovers _of_ leftovers; some were discarded of when they could no longer identify what it once was. Yet this smell just screamed to differ, the smell of an actual meal. She fought of the temptation to leave her room. She was content with her noodles, she tried to convince herself; but before she knew it she was out the door.

Located on the lower part of the large colony, on the eastern side, was the mess hall. The _dining room_ the crew had joked. It was sizeable and empty except for the only large table in the middle of it. The table was made of some cheap plastic, the kind that could have been used in a picnic setting, yet it was large and could easily accommodate 10 people.

Hanging on the corner before the kitchen started was a small plasma television, not of the latest model but it sufficed in providing a certain level of entertainment and news of the outside world. The actual kitchen was located on the other side of the wall; half of that wall had been knocked down and remodeled for better access in and out if the kitchen.

From the other side of the kitchen came a tall and robust woman wearing a dirty apron over her tank top and jeans with her graying hair in a bun to keep it away from her face, carrying a large plate of food to the set table. She quickly set it down with a loud thud. Steam rose from all the hot containers of cooking, from the ones on the table to inside the kitchen from the meals still preparing themselves.

No sooner had she set the last pot down that two men came in whooping and complimenting on the smell.

"Holy shit, actual food!" said Johann Tilton, the crew's technician, a lean young man with untamed brown hair and happy eyes. He tried to steal a piece of buttered bread but the cook's slap made him drop it.

"Don't you dare," she warned. "Ya'll wait until everyone's here."

"What's the occasion?" asked Andrew as he walked in, giving Winnie a peck on the cheek with a failed attempt to sneak out food. Winnie's eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.

"Well, the grub bug arrived yesterday so I figured I'd put fresh food to good use."

"You mean the supply ship brought good food since _yesterday_? Then why'd you feed us that crap of last night?" yelled Johann from his seat in the corner. "You could have killed me! That shit was harder to harder to swallow than a rock. I think it even growled at me on the way to my mouth."

"You're still standing ain't ya? Besides, what kind of medic would I be if I let her boys die so easily?"

Andrew leaned to her ear. "Just remember: we'll never tell," he whispered.

"Hey!" Johann complained.

"Oh man! Shrimp!" exclaimed Joe Kirkham as he ran to his seat like an expectant child. He took in a good whiff of the food then with fake teary eyes he looked up at Winnie and said, "I _love_ you."

"Cute," she said in mocking disgust. She thought that Joe, being he's 41 with thinning hair and all, would act his age sometimes. "Where's the boss-lady? I told you to get her."

Andrew shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

Winnie walked over to the door and stuck her head into the hall. "Dora! C'mon, you better get something! I don't know how much longer I can hold these wolverines at bay and – _I see you from the corner of my eye Johann, now put that down_!"

"Damn," he muttered, putting the roll back in the basket.

"There you are!" Winnie said, putting her arm over Dora as she walked in.

Dora stopped for a second, tying up the ropes on her sweatpants, before making her way to her teammates.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to join us. Thought 'Her Highness' would be to good for us, eating noodles and all," said Andrew, taking his seat.

Winnie scoffed. "Noodles? I thought I hid those sodium-laden things. Spoil you appetite, will ya?"

Dora gently tapped him in the forehead. "Consider yourself blessed now," she said and sat down next to Johann.

"About time," he said. That earned him a rough elbow shove on his side.

Winnie sat down in front of her, taking of her apron. The 52-year-old woman had calm, steely eyes that held wisdom behind them. Even among these grown adults she functioned as a mother.

"Noodles, eh? I'm surprised you're still hungry," she said.

Dora looked at Andrew then back at Winnie. "Whatever, I'm sorry. I got hungry and grabbed the first thing I saw. I wasn't planning on eating with you guys, I mean, let's face it, your cooking was going downhill _fast_. I was beginning to think it was an assassination attempt."

She grabbed a roll and nibbled at it before taking a larger bite.

Winnie made no attempt to stop her.

"Yet here you are," the elder woman said.

Dora shrugged her shoulders and took another bite. "What can I say? If the world were a pot of stew, you'd rule it," she said with a smile.

Winnie smiled also. "I'm taking those damn noodles and burning them."

"Hey, I eat those too," complained Andrew. Joe agreed in the sparing of the noodles.

"Can we eat now?" whined Johann.

Winnie waited a few more seconds; just to tease them a little bit before exhaling, "Dig in."

The room soon filled with all kinds of content noises; the clashing of silverware drowned under their lively conversations. It was hard to believe that only a few days age the crew would have rather take their chances of survival on a Xenomorph suicide mission rather than face one of Winnie's plates. Plates were passed back and forth more often than a ball in a tennis match. Helpings of food generously filled their plates; meals to choose from ranged fish to pasta and vegetables and everything in between.

"Man, I know using all this food this early is bad," Winnie said, taking another serving of sausages. "Can't help myself though, when new food arrives I feel like I gotta use it as soon as possible because next thing I know I'm throwing it all away. We're gonna have to start rationing two weeks earlier than the other guys."

"I ain't complaining and I don't care," said Joe still digging his fork into the fish on his plate. "Bet those other guys don't get to eat half as good as this. Winnie, you're a goddess with the golden ladle."

Johann let out a happy exhale rubbing his full stomach. "Man, those Aliens can come anytime now 'cause I'll happily accept _this_ as my last meal."

"Don't even kid about that," said Joe, a bit of worry in his tone. "You jut might jinx it for all of us."

Andrew scoffed. "Joe, you _still_ worry about that? The Aliens haven't migrated from their territory for two years. Okay, so 40 yards is not much but they aren't coming. And if they did the alarms around their zone would go off before we even see them; by the time they _did_ rear their long ugly heads over the horizon we have a full license to kill."

Joe sighed. "Man, what I wouldn't do to go in there and blast them all to hell and back but _no-ho-ho_ we have to _observe_ them from afar."

"Its our job. The policy strictly says that minimal interaction with humans is a must. I'd agree on blowing those bastards up should they get out of hand but so far they've done nothing. Which is weird considering how much bad rep they have," Dora said.

"That was because of fault on the human's side," intervened Johann. "They didn't know how to act around them. Did the early humans saw the wolf and thought _oh what a great hunting partner that would make!_ No. They wet their primitive pants and ran. Only when they exploited their pups did they find use for them. Same with the Aliens, humans have gone a long way since the first encounter. At first we thought of them as nothing but dangerous bugs but now look how it is, we have set aside an entire territory for them just for observation. Medics are being trained in treating Alien-relating injuries." He tapped Joe, "Remember when that drone jumped out of that ravine and chomped on our asses?"

"You cried like a baby for a scratch."

"Never mind that. The important thing was that Winnie acted professional through the entire ordeal and before you know it I was good as new."

"Johann, it was a scratch. I just applied a band aid over it," said Winnie.

"Like a _professional_."

Winnie chuckled lightly and laid her fork on her plate saying, "With all the whining you big babies do, I should get a raise."

"But it's a volunteer assignment. We don't get paid at all," said Dora.

Winnie sighed. "I _know_; don't remind me. If it weren't for the fact that it was either this or retirement I wouldn't be here but retirement is synonymous with deathbed for me. Can you imagine? Me, medical practitioner for over 40 years – serving in two world battles – _retired_? No way honey, there's still a lot of life left in _this_ woman."

Andrew raised his glass, "Amen!" he said with a light laugh.

"Besides, even if we don't get paid it's not that bad." Dora leaned back and picked on her nails. "We have a nice, fortified home – "

"Complete with climate control, thank God," declared Andrew.

" – Complete with climate control, food, healthcare –" Dora nodded at Winnie – "and we all just lazy about half the time. Really, nothing to complain about but if you really want to be a narrow-minded asshole" – she shot a nasty look at Joe – " then go ahead, walk the 50 mile track of subzero temperatures to the Nest and blow them all _to hell and back_. I doubt that you'll make it halfway in this weather and if you do then I doubt that the Aliens will give you a warm welcome."

Joe raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I was just saying. Don't chew me out like that –"

"Yeah man, that was harsh!" said Johann as amiably as possible, trying to keep the situation under control.

"I'm not chewing anybody out!"

"Yes you are!" Joe shot up from his seat, slamming his hands on the table and giving a few utensils a jump. "This isn't the first time that's happened Dora! Okay, fine, I respect the fact that you admire these creatures, ok? It's not your fault; it's your job. You study Xenomorphs and that's ok. It's not the most popular career but you like what you do. But when you end up witnessing Aliens playing cat's cradle with your comrades' intestines then, yeah, you would have to excuse me for being a little bias."

There was an uncomfortable silence hanging over them for what seemed like an eternity. Dora stared at Joe with an irritated look, like she was about to shout the biggest strand of obscenities but she just kept her mouth shut and looked away, sighing deeply, shaking her head.

"You know what? Go ahead, take Johann and Andrew with you to the Nest and destroy it. I mean you're the leader of this little colony, right? You make the rules, you have the final say; I'm just your bug-observing lackey. Locked all day in my room, what would _I_ know about correctly dealing with them? Rule them with an iron fist Joe." She brushed her hair with her fingers. "Who knows? You just might find a Queen there. They encourage that kind of behavior with great financial gain."

"We're not talking about Queens Dora."

"I am. I want a Queen. We all do; that's why we volunteered for this. I just don't want to blast my way through a carefully structured Nest only to come back empty handed." She scoffed. "But there're no Queens in that Nest, only the same bugs from 10 years ago. Just a decade older, that's all. Heh, you'd figure that after 10 years a damn Queen would have appeared by then. Bastards…_if drones are devoid of a Queen then one of them will turn into one,_ my ass. That's what those Aliens are, a bunch of disappointing bastards."

She got up and bade everyone a glum goodnight then left the room leaving the rest of her companions with an awkward feeling.

"Disappointing bastards…" she could be heard muttering down the hall.

Andrew looked around a bit, testing the waters, then got up and stretched with a fake yawn. "Well, might as well hit the hay too seeing as Johann and I have full schedules tomorrow, don't we Johann?"

Johann snapped back to reality. "Wait – what? Oh, oh yeah. Full schedule…doing stuff, lots of stuff."

"Just go you guys," Winnie said with a smile.

She was irritated but hid it well from the rest. They knew that Joe and Dora clashed in their views on how to handle the creatures and never wanted to get caught in their crossfire.

Only Joe and Winnie were left in the room. Joe sat back down and rested his head on his hand, paying attention to nothing, just looking into space with the look of a lost man; knowing where he was but not sure where to go next.

Winnie was left humming to her self lightly before getting up and picking plates to be washed. It was the second trip back before Joe said anything.

"I'll help."

Winnie would have waved him off but since her hands were full she just shrugged. "If you feel like you need something to do…Johann is usually the one that stays behind but go ahead, I never turn down help. Once your mind goes into auto-pilot – believe me, you don't need much brains to do this – it'll help clear it."

"You should be the one that needs to go to bed. Make Johann do the work, he's young and hardy." He picked up the larger plates and made way to the kitchen where he set them down on the large sink halfway up already with dishes. He looked at the clock; it was 11: 15 pm.

"Nah, I ain't that old. I don't mind doing this, makes me feel like I'm doing something, like I'm useful. You guys may whine a lot but half the time you can take care of yourself."

Winnie turned to Joe as he came out of the kitchen to pick up more plates and she passed him on the way to the sink.

"Turn on the T.V. I want to see what's going on in the outside world."

Joe cleaned his hands on the towel before picking up the remote. "What's there to know? Wars, death, political corruption…there, the outside world in a nutshell."

"Just humor me with the background noise."

The room suddenly came alive with the vaguely static noise of the television screen. Joe flipped the channel until it landed on one of the local news station. Even though the anchorwoman was the typical doll of other stations there was a military, even strict, tone to her as she delivered the news.

Major stories of the day consisted of local news – a popular general was going to be dismissed from duty after a funding scandal – but there was the odd feature about mysterious deaths or downed ships.

"_Bugs_…" Winnie said in a singsong tone. "How stupid to these people think we are? Unknown cause of death? Hah! Just look at the claw marks they are showing on that body! Or the way the frame on that ship melted away, no _human_ acid could have caused that; hint, hint…"

Joe nodded. "Humans have a habit of sticking our noses where they don't belong. It's no longer that big of a secret but they just don't want everyone to worry about it. They wouldn't be able to get out of bed if they did."

"Still, this is a local channel. The only thing local is a large military settlement 75 miles away. Military! Their entire population is an expert on this situation; I'll even bet their children study this at school."

"I'm just happy that all the involvement I have to do is in here and not out there," he said before picking up the last set of plates.

By the next morning the snow had stopped falling, only small flurries appeared now and then from the sky but not enough to create a new layer of white carpet; much to Joe and Andrew's gratification.

Both men were outside, near the opening of the docking bay, shovels at hand, picking up large amounts of snow and removing it to the side where it wouldn't disturb should an emergency ship need landing space or they need to leave in one of their vehicles.

Under so many layers of clothing it was hard to distinguish which man was which. Thick jackets, equally thick gloves, even thicker boots; everything was at least double-layered to survive in their frozen wasteland. The pace of their breath was in sync with the pace of their shoveling. They took in stinging cold air when they dug their shovels in the snow and exhaled large clouds when the snow flew from their shovels.

Shoveling was a near daily chore and every able-bodied member of the _Odyssey_ colony – with the exception of Winnie – took turns with this task. Named after Homer's infamous story on the great Greek adventure, the _Odyssey_ seemed more like an oxymoron label to a sedentary base with an equally sedentary crew. Johann had thought that a more appropriate name for the base would have been _Igloo_ since the large domed ceiling perpetually covered in snow did make it look like one from afar.

Winnie was slurping on a hot cup of coffee she had recently made. On the nearby table the pot steamed with the boiling drink. She was in one of the observatory rooms, the one with the largest windowpane for a better view of watching the endless white. It faced east for it to heat up faster with less energy in the morning sun, and even though the room itself possessed little furniture beyond a large sofa and another small television on a crudely made counter it was the favorite spot for the crew to socialize over a warm drink and something to eat.

Yet no one but the medic/cook was present this morning, everyone else was either shoveling snow, scribbling down research notes, or tinkering with simple mechanics.

She gently blew the steam away from her cup and took another sip. The coffee was black and strong; just the way she liked it but not everyone shared the same taste and even Joe – who was next in line for coffee maker extraordinaire – had once commented that her coffee was so strong it could be used as a chemical weapon.

"They're going to break their backs one of these days…" she said to herself with a hint of humor.

She was more worried for Andrew and with good reason; Andrew had family history of heart-related problems and had just recently recovered from a mild heart attack. It had given everyone a big scare but Winnie had kept her cool and did her thing, the ordeal was soon over and Andrew fully recovered in record time. He was already on medication – a serum made from harvested Xenomorph adrenaline that he had to inject himself with every other day to strengthen the muscles of his heart – but soon the dosage was mixed with a relaxant and increased.

Her heart skipped a beat whenever she saw him clutch his chest but he would always brush her off saying he was tired of her nagging.

In the end, she stopped badgering altogether.

The sound of clamoring footsteps increased until Dora ran into the room with arms outstretched on either side of the doorframe to keep from falling as he thrusted her upper body into the room yelling, "_Where's Andrew and Johann?_"

Winnie shrugged her shoulders. "Andrew's out shoveling…I ain't got a clue where Johann is though you might want to check the equipment room. Why?"

Dora said thanks and ran down the hall. "Alien's AWOL!" she screamed in explanation.

Winnie said nothing but returned to her coffee.

From the window she soon saw Dora running out into the freezing cold in her sweat suit calling out to Andrew. He obviously couldn't hear her from all the layers he wore on his face so she motioned him to follow her inside with rushed movements, he dropped the shovel and ran with her back into the base.

A few moments later the P.A. on the radios came on with Dora on the other side almost sounding like she was about to hack a lung.

"Johann! I want you to drop whatever the hell you're doing, suit up, and haul your scrawny ass over to the docking bay! Johann! Docking bay! _Now!_"

Winnie shook her head, slightly amused at the boss-lady's anxiety yet that's what earned her the nickname _boss-lady_: when she was wanted something, she wanted it done ten minutes ago and was going to hound the unfortunate person until it was done. Even though the directors of the program designated Joe to be head of the colony, when it came down to _her_ matters Dora ruled all, albeit for a while. Then she could quietly crash when the adrenaline left her system and soon all was good in the world again.

In less than ten minutes two bulky snowmobiles left the base towards the endless, frozen horizon; their coordinates already decided by the current circumstances.

Moments later, by then the snowmobiles long gone, Dora walked in the room, gave a deep sigh and allowed gravity to attract her body facedown towards the sofa, making content gurgling noises muffled by the pillows.

Winnie smiled and shook her head in amusement.

Such was a small part of the life in their crazy little colony they called "home".


	2. Easter Eggs

CHAPTER 2 – Easter Eggs

"Okay, refresh my memory again. We're looking for _what_ exactly?" asked Johann through the intercom of his suit to Andrew. Their suits were less bulky than the ones they used to shovel snow but had more equipment and protective covering designed for their kind of task.

Andrew grunted, tired of Johann's absentmindedness. "Easter eggs, Johann…we're looking for Happy Easter Eggs – Aliens, man! _What else would we be here for_? Didn't you hear boss-lady's orders?"

"Orders? You mean those snarling growls were an actual _language_?"

The snowy hill on the side of the embankment was actually an abandoned military outpost from when the sampling expeditions first started. Over the years it had simply become another part of the snowy scenery. The men parked their snowmobiles alongside the northern wall so the sun would keep at least a degree or so of warmth as they inspected the nearby area.

Johann surveyed ahead of Andrew. As said by Dora (or what he deciphered from her) an Alien drone had gone missing from the morning count and, according to the perimeter of the safeguards along each outpost, it was somewhere along this section; their job was to recover the Xenomorph with minimal damage and return it to the Nest. The snow was falling harder in this zone of the valley and made vision more than 10 feet away difficult. He found no tracts on the ground; the snow was falling too fast with too much abundance for any clear marks to be left. Even his own footprints were disappearing quickly.

He heard Andrew call out and ran to the outpost where he found him standing by the entrance. The roof of the entrance had kept most of the falling snow away protecting the unmistakable tracts of a Xenomorph drone.

They quickly went to get the larger weapons out of their snowmobile's trunk and returned ready to face the menace inside but before Andrew took a step in Johann grabbed his arm.

"Whoa, where are you going? Shouldn't we wait for the _Oasis_ guys to get here? I mean, they wait for _us_ and protocol says that both bases should collaborate on these kind of things."

Andrew thought about it. "I guess, alright. But they better hurry up, the more we linger the longer that thing has time to go into hiding. Then it'll be hell to track it down."

The _Oasis _base was located just on the other side of where the _Odyssey_ base stood with the Alien Nest in between them. Both had the same assignment by the directors and were also in charge of Xenomorph recovery and relocation. The teams had agreed to send two members at a time to minimize surprise attacks. Yet twelve minutes passed and still no sign of the _Oasis_ recovery team. Johann agreed that waiting would do no good so they decided to go ahead without them.

Andrew readied his weapon.

"Time to earn our non-existing pay," he said with a sneer.

Both men entered the dark interior. It was cold inside the inert base, ridiculously colder than the outside but fitting for its dead atmosphere. Even with their special suits they could still feel the uncomfortable bite of the frost on their skin. The only light came from their helmets and at the end of their large weapons creating eerie shadows wherever the light missed. Supposedly, within the confines of the dancing shadows was a creature more than willing to gut their insides like a fish.

With the first room cleared, they entered the next chamber. The control room. No ice decorated its equipment; the air was too dry for that to occur.

A dry, rasping noise caught their attention and quickly aimed their weapons at the source of it: behind a derelict control panel weathered by time.

"Remember, we aren't allowed to kill those things…" started Johann, his anxiety evident in the soft quivering of his voice. Out of the two men, Johann was the least experienced in this type of profession. Before he was admitted as a member of the _Odyssey _Johann served in the military and was accustomed to blindly killing the creatures. The thought of an unconscious – an alive – Xenomorph at his feet was his idea of a time bomb waiting to explode.

"I know, I know. Knock it out, return it to the Nest, and run the hell back. But if it starts to fuck around I'm putting an explosive bullet in its ugly head."

Johann nodded. "I got my Fat Lady ready, cover me."

Andrew nodded back. "Gotcha. Fat Lady ready here. Go ahead."

Fat Ladies were the names given to their assigned matrix guns. Unlike normal weapons, which carried ammunition, Fat Ladies needed a large battery pack to create an air matrix. Crudely explained, when triggered the Fat Lady created a small explosion of compressed air that shot out in the form of a matrix air bubble, when said bubble exploded the force knocked out anything in its path. It was fast and very effective but due to their large size it was clumsy and loud.

Hence the name _Fat Lady_.

As Johann got closer he could hear his heartbeat pounding inside his head. He tried to calm himself down, telling himself that he had already a few encounters under his sleeve, that he was cool and everything would be fine. Yet every experience was new with a very high level of hazard; not to mention they were down two extra personnel. The creatures had been known to gain sadistic pleasure out of ripping limbs in order to try and drag the handicapped victim away within the chaos.

His next step caused the rasping noise to get louder and turned into an angry hiss. He saw the head of the creature draw back into the confines of the panel and the wall.

Johann retreated slowly, keeping his weapon aimed in case the Xenomorph showed unwanted behavior.

"We could lure it out," he suggested to Andrew in a near whisper, "It'd be too risky to try and get it. It's got a nice position, once chomp on our asses and were done."

"Is it that big a drone?"

Johann scoffed. "The old one with the scar."

"_Fuck._" Andrew hissed. "Grandpa."

Andrew signaled Johann to step back with him a little bit more. When they were behind a cement column near the outlet he spoke again.

"Alright…we've dealt with Grandpa before; it's a tough son of a bitch. It's smart. We've got to bring it down with minimal damage…to both it and us."

"It knows almost all of our tricks though. It didn't fall for the bait procedure – (i.e. one person assumes the role of injured, acting as a lure, while the rest take position around the perimeter) – and I don't think it's going to get tricked by anything less."

"Fine, then we're going to have to be more _persuasive_ and use force. Damn, Dora's going to chop off our balls and stuff them in a pickle jar if she finds so much as a bruise on Grandpa. God knows how long that thing has been her main study subject; she's practically in love with it."

Johann chuckled. "Apple of her eye…"

"Fuck it. We're out here, risking my goddamn life for no money and she's just sitting on her ass all day. Grandpa will be lucky if all it gets is a bruise. Alright, screw the tricks, we'll each go around and try to box it in, if that doesn't work don't give it a chance to attack, just shoot."

"You put tactical officers to shame man," Johann said with a low laugh.

"Shut up."

Each man took a corner on either side of the room, and with their backs hugging the wall, slowly paced towards their target. The Alien hissed louder with each advancing step they took, warning the humans of a foolish act. Andrew stopped for a second when he saw Grandpa's ridged tail swivel elegantly in the shadows. He knew that meant the Xenomorph was readying for some sort of action; the same kind of coiling movement rattlesnakes do before striking. As he continued with his advance he prayed for no surprises from the old Alien.

Andrew sidestepped and soon had the Alien within sight. It was definitely Grandpa with its signature scar running down its face. All of a sudden it spun around and snarled angrily when Johann got too close. It was then Andrew saw something odd on the Alien's body; small, organic, bulb-like structures layering its thick skin. There were four of them – all about the size of a large human head – attached to its back like part of its normal physiology.

Grandpa swiveled its large head back and forth keeping an eye on both humans.

"C'mon Grandpa…" Johann persuaded, getting a bit closer, "C'mon old ugly…"

He brought his weapon higher to get a better aim but as soon as the old Xenomorph heard the telltale powering up of the large weapon it shrieked and soared over the panel, its whipping tail missing Andrew's face by mere inches.

"_Fuck!_" they yelled.

Andrew shot at it – the loud explosion banging back in thundering echoes, shaking the snow collected on the ceiling – but the creature had vanished from sight into the previous room.

"Not until you have a clear shot!" Johann yelled.

"_I know_!" he spat back.

They shook their heads in failure; Andrew would have beated himself up for shooting aimlessly because he was taken by surprise.

"Fuck this shit," Johann hissed. After a good kick on the frozen panel to relieve his frustration he turned to Andrew. "Can't believe the fucker got away, we had it right there. Right there… and those things…did you see those things on its back? Man, I knew Grandpa looked weirder than usual."

"You saw those too?"

"Yeah, they looked like cancerous growth, or tumors, or something… You think that's why boss-lady was freaking out so badly? I mean, if anything bad were to happen to Grandpa she'd have a heart attack. No offense."

"None taken. I know what you mean though, and we'd end up with the blame anyways. She'd find a way to blame us then bitch about this and bitch about that 'till the end of time. We'd never hear the end of it. Shit…"

Johann took a moment to gather his thoughts then readied his weapon again.

"Ready for take two?" he said.

Andrew nodded. "My Fat Lady needs to recharge but let's go ahead, by the time we find Grandpa again she'll be ready."

Carefully, they entered the room, ready for any surprises, and quickly surveyed the area. Johann thoroughly checked the various nooks and crannies of the ceiling, both big and small, anyplace that a creature could hide in; Aliens had amazing versatility and could be found in the most unlikely of corners and Grandpa had already established a reputation for sneak attacks from above. Yet the task was proving more difficult than expected due to the odd extensions and overlapping structures that blocked his view. Andrew took a few more steps forward until he was in the center of the room, he rotated his gun around a few times checking and rechecking for anyplace that an Alien could hide but the room yielded nothing.

Johann came next to Andrew, his weapon down, relaxed. "Man, it ain't here."

"Yes it is!" hissed Andrew, still looking around. "It's gotta be, it didn't go back that's for sure. Look harder."

Suddenly, loud metallic banging came from the outside, the noise dulled by the thickness of the outpost's walls. A loud bellow drowned the metallic rasping.

"_Oh fuck_!" Andrew yelled running through the room and out into the outside afraid of what he might find.

At first glance all was calm, the snow continued in heavy amounts and all seemed deadly peaceful but the loud noise was all he heard. He didn't understand where it was coming from; even Johann seemed confused at the mixture of metal and roars. They spun around nervously trying to figure out their surroundings but only when a large chunk of metal landed in their direction did they have a suspicion of where the Alien might be.

Running, they turned to the northern corner of the outpost to find Grandpa unreservedly clawing and ripping at their snowmobiles. Different fragments of their vehicles scattered on the ground and dark oil splattered on the white snow like blood. The Xenomorph, ignoring the humans' presence, continued with its inexplicable desire to mutilate the snowmobiles. It seemed to have grown a special hatred towards Johann's vehicle and set all its assault on it.

Johann lunged himself at the creature when he could no longer take the sight of his snowmobile being reduced to scraps.

"_Son of a bitch!_"

He ran towards the Alien, yelling obscenities at the top of his lungs maybe thinking it would scare the Xenomorph away but Grandpa smacked its tail across his chest with a sickening thud, all the force of the impact concentrated in one second, leaving his weapon behind as he flew.

The human's attack caught the Xenomorph's attention and with another bellow of aggression it leaped in the direction of the fallen man. Andrew bounded onto the creature's back as it ran by, trying to wrap his thick arms around its neck but Grandpa just dropped to its side, rolling on its back to get the human off, then leaped back to its feet leaving the disturbed human on the floor.

Johann didn't even have a chance to recover before Grandpa grabbed him by the hem of his suit with its teeth, jerking its head forward, sending him flying another ten yards only to grab him again seconds after he fell to repeat the deed. Then it proceeded to viciously claw the human, slapping him around the snow like a cat with an injured mouse, just playing around before the inevitable.

With the human disoriented enough the Xenomorph could take its time gnawing the tough suit at the shoulder to expose the human's flesh without his retaliation. Johann's brain was so stupefied that it didn't register the pain as Grandpa sunk its mouth into his shoulder, viciously shaking its head to damage the joint further, the creature's teeth ripping ligaments and tendons as he laid on the ground like a rag doll. It then grabbed his suit again and dragged the limp human a few feet, leaving a thick trail of blood on the snow, before letting him drop from its mouth and raised its head in the direction of an approaching sound.

A loud shriek escaped its mouth when Andrew came in sight on his damaged snowmobile with both Fat Ladies laid on his lap. He took out a small handgun and began to shoot at the creature. His intention was not to harm the Xenomorph – its acidic blood could hit Johann – but to scare it away.

With a loud bellow it ran off but Andrew remained in pursuit.

"_Come back here you fucker_!" he yelled as he chased the creature until he was right behind the Alien. Just a few yards separated the human from the swift Xenomorph. He reached for one of the Fat Ladies and carefully took aim; the Alien's dark coloration made it easily stand out against the white surrounding.

The loud explosion of the air matrix caught Grandpa and knocked the Alien off its feet with a howl. It fell to the ground and slid a bit in the snow before it stopped. Down but not out Grandpa tried to get up but a subsequent shot from the second Fat Lady sent it reeling again and this time stayed still where it fell.

With the Xenomorph out for the count Andrew took in some much needed breaths of air. The adrenaline pooled in his blood made him lightheaded yet strangely focused; all that was in his mind was finishing his job and did not gave a second thought to Johann and his injuries. The Xenomorph was his main priority; the human's well-being would have to be pushed aside until he was done.

From one of the snowmobile's side pockets he took out a large roll of sturdy cables and a large synthetic net both artificially created to withstand Xenomorphic might. It wouldn't last long should the creature be up and alert but it was strong enough to safely carry downed ones. The Alien was soon tied up like a calf in a rodeo; its tail was tied to its head and both pairs of limbs behind its back with the knots tied over the protruding spines. He noticed that there were only three of those odd growths left, two were extremely damaged, and figured that they must have been lost during the matrix explosion. Grandpa growled lightly and made soft movements. Andrew would have about an hour before the creature came to and regained its strength.

Andrew took out his handgun again and pressed the barrel over the creature's forehead. "You fucked around badly enough…"

After a few hesitating moments he relieved the pressure and put the gun away. He heaved the rope over his shoulder and dragged the bound Alien over to his snowmobile; but soon he had to take a minute to catch his breath before dragging the heavy being up the last two yards.

He could hear Johann stirring and moaning in pain in the background. Without looking up he yelled, "Put snow on it! Keep the swelling down!" and what he first thought were the rumbling clouds of a nearby snowstorm turned to be the distant motor of two approaching snowmobiles.

Andrew put his hand over his eyes to block the shine of the sun on the reflective snow. The snowmobiles sharply turned and stopped a few feet from where the two men where. They quickly dismounted their vehicles when they saw Johann down in a small pool of his own blood but Andrew brushed them off and returned securing the knots on the Alien.

"Don't bother, I got it. Hey, you over there! Leave him alone! He's fine."

A man jogged towards Andrew with his weapon on his side followed by a large St. Bernard dog. He lifted his visor.

"_Are you aware your buddy has a bite wound the size of Kansas on his arm_? Do you want us to give him some coagulants or something? Shit, he's just lying there and – "

"Goddamn it, didn't I say he's fine? That's what he gets for trying to tackle an experienced Xenomorph; let him suffer a bit, he's fine, now leave him alone and help me with this bastard, that's what you're here for…late might I add."

The man sighed heavily. "Hey man if you guys got into trouble then that's your own damn fault. You should have waited for us, and it's not like the _Odyssey_ has a perfect attendance record anyways; half the time _we_ get there before you even show up at all."

"That only happened once because at that moment attending to a failing heart was more important than an Alien that had decided to go for a stroll."

The man threw his arms in the air. "Whatever," he said, "Do whatever the fuck you want, let your friend bleed to death for all I care. That would be – what – the second time you had replacements? Third, when you send back this guy… So who was it this time?" His voice lost the casual tone.

Andrew brusquely listed the Xenomorph's head, showing the large scar.

"Ah, Grandpa," the man said. "It's been getting more daring these days. Wonder what's gotten them so uptight? Either way, Eliza and I could have helped you guys and gotten it done with twice the efficiency and half the damage. Even you know what you did was pretty damn stupid, trying to lure it out. Grandpa is just too smart for your games… in the end it was Grandpa who played with you."

Andrew got up, keeping eye level with the man. "You want to help John?" He gave the Alien a swift quick on its side. Grandpa hissed and moved around a bit. "Here, take it back to the Nest. As you can see…" – he pointed to the scraps of metal from Johann's snowmobile – "we're having some _technical difficulties_ at the moment."

The large dog sniffed the Alien's head and started barking insanely at it, nipping and clawing its thick skin. Andrew tried to kick the dog but the animal balked out of the way of his foot.

"Get away you mutt!" he spat.

"Homeboy!" John called out to the St Bernard. "C'mon Homeboy, go to Eliza. Go to Eliza. Good boy."

The dog trotted back to the second person that petted the animal, rewarding his obedience, then grabbed the collar ensuring that it wouldn't go away. Andrew hated when they brought over that dog. It wasn't bad enough that it would bark whenever it saw a Xenomorph but that it would be another living thing to look after during the missions.

John looked the Alien over and with the butt of his Fat Lady he pointed at the protrusions. "What the hell are those?"

"Don't know, don't care. Slowed it down a bit though…" He patted John's shoulder and handed the lead rope of the net. "You got half an hour," he said, heading towards Johann. With great care he lifted the injured man and slowly made their way to Andrew's snowmobile.

Joe shook his head at the sight of the damage their snowmobiles had endured. Both vehicles were in the base's garage. Johann's (or what's left of it) hung by wires a few feet of the ground to get a better view of underneath and see if anything could be salvaged but the Xenomorph had damaged everything beyond repair. Andrew's was on the ground adjacent to it, its frame had been removed and it seemed to have received the least damage of the two vehicles.

"Damn, when you guys said you were going to be late because of _light engine trouble_ I expected at most a stalled motor, not this metallic massacre."

He gave a long a whistle as he ran his fingers over the claw marks on the frame. "Grandpa sure gave these things a run for their money; it's going to be cheaper to get a new one than repair that one, definitely, that one's ending up in the junkyard", he said about Johann's snowmobile. "Headquarters is going to have something to talk about when I tell them about this."

"I just want to know if they'll run again," said Andrew leaning on a large metal crate next to a large tool shed.

Joe sighed. "Yours probably, yeah, a good chance it will run, but Johann's is nothing more than material for a junkyard artist. I'll tell ya you shouldn't have bothered trying to drag it here; with the extra weight of Johann, the scrap, and two Fat Ladies, it strained you engine a bit. Nothing that can't be fixed when I pour some time into it but I might suggest a new frame."

Andrew walked over and looked over his snowmobile's frame. Grandpa had made a clean incision from the left fore light to the middle of the carriage and one that reached halfway of that length on the other side. There was the odd dent and scratch but those two claw marks were the primary damage.

"I don't know…" he said, "It doesn't seem to have suffered _that_ much damage and those claw marks _do_ look kind of cool…"

Joe smiled, knowing exactly was Andrew was suggesting. "Gotcha. Claw marks stay."

He grabbed the frame and put it over next to empty cargo boxes. With a few ropes he tied the frame to a low pipe so it wouldn't fall or get in the way; then he lowered the cables until Johann's heap of metal hit the floor with light clinking. He knew he would have to get rid of it but he wasn't sure whether to call for an emergency craft to take it now or wait until the next supply shipment and just pester the pilot until he took it with him.

Joe hesitated a bit before asking, "So…uh, how's Johann? Doing well? Gotta admit, I freaked out a bit when he came in all screaming in pain and shit with blood all over. Reminded me of the nightmares on Xenomorph wipeout missions, know what I mean?" He turned to some knobs on the climate control panel.

Andrew bobbed his head slowly, licking his lips in tension as he remembered the day's events. "Yeah, it was pretty hard shit. He's just an ass, tackling Grandpa, who the fuck does that to Grandpa? Or any Xenomorph for that matter? It's just stupid." There was some buildup in his lungs and coughed hoarsely. "Shit, I better not get a cold or anything. I actually jumped on that fucker's back trying to choke it."

Joe chuckled at the thought. "Heh, ride 'em cowboy."

"No kidding," he said with a smile, "It was wild, I can't even remember doing it, happened so fast. I just saw it run by and jumped on it. And you know what the fucker did? It didn't even stop to buck me off or anything – would have been more fitting though – it just let it legs fall out from beneath it and landed on its back with me underneath."

"Damn, and you _still_ standing? You must have some crazy dumb luck."

"Not luck, luck would have been it snapping its neck as it plummeted to the ground. Besides, all those protruding spines and shit kept most of the weight off me, I hit my head hard though, and all that tossing and turning, snow and Alien flying everywhere. I didn't even know where I was when it came back up again, I just laid there with my brain scrambled up like eggs in a frying pan."

He rubbed his bandaged wounds on his left arm; when Grandpa fell on him one of the protrusions cut through his suit and into his flesh, Winnie had done a good job on patching him up all over but he knew after all that bumping and crashing he would be extremely sore in the morning. Strangely though, he enjoyed his job immensely and took great pride every time a Xenomorph was returned; he understood that Dora and he shared the same odd fascination for these creatures it was just that each took a different approach to admire them. He knew Joe's bias came from bad experience with the Xenomorphs and who could blame him; the creatures were notorious killers and took no prisoners except to pregnate them. Yet even the proud Joe recognized their strength and respected it but it would not change his negative attitude towards them. Andrew hoped that Johann didn't grow to hate Grandpa for what it did to his arm; the Xenomorph just did what came naturally with "for the good of the Hive" mentality. Then again, Andrew still had both of his arms.

"Johann still with Winnie?" Andrew asked.

Joe nodded. "I think so. That arm was in pretty bad shape; I hope you did equal damage to that old bastard, he's toyed with us long enough. Next time, don't even bother trying to knock it out, just blow its brains out and claim self defense."

"Almost did," said Andrew, remembering his handgun on the Xenomorph's head.

"Shame on you, I wouldn't have hesitated; you turning soft for them then?"

Andrew didn't take that too lightly. "Fuck no; it was already knocked out. Didn't have a reason to, sure it fucked back enough but not until Grandpa kills someone will…"

"So you're going to wait until it _does_ kill? Heh, you know damn well they won't kill, they need us alive; even if there's no Queen their instinct to hoard vessels will overcome any other thought in their minds. I've heard of some starving to death just waiting around. And what about Johann's arm? That's not reason there? Maybe if the roles were reversed and you found yourself with your arm being ripped from its socket you wouldn't think twice about using your gun, I can tell you right there."

"_Me_? Remember the time _you_ shot drone #3? Its blood splattered all over our second guy's face! We had to call an emergency ship from the outpost!"

Joe shrugged. "It's not my fault he was at the wrong place when the drone freaked out! If I didn't shoot then it would have attacked!"

Andrew scoffed, throwing his hands in the air. "Oh _yeah_, and being splattered with acidic blood is _so_ much better! Joe, his skin was melting off his skull!"

"I did what I had to do and whatever happened happens."

Andrew shook his head, not sure what to say next. Joe was right; the drone was overpowering them and would have killed hadn't Joe pulled out his gun but it was unfair for the guy who had gotten in the way. No matter how many corrective surgeries that guy went through his face would never be the same. Yet volunteering for this mission meant that whatever happened to you was your own fault, you took responsibility to any injuries and your possible death.

He turned around and went out the door, feeling he had to check on Johann. As he turned the corner that lead to the main base he heard Joe yell, "You should have shot it!"

The infirmary was originally located on the lower floor but it was awfully inconvenient for Winnie to run up and down to get a flask of antibiotics or drag someone with an injured leg down the stairs to reach it so it was soon taken apart and relocated on the middle floor for easier access. That way Winnie could attend to their injuries quicker without making that long of a trip.

The large doors parted with a hiss as Andrew approached them. He found Dora sitting on a chair in front of a large pane with Winnie on the other side attending to Johann. She had been an hour operating on Johann's limb and he was surprised that she was still at it. There was a large machine that attached to the central computer hovering over him taking scans of his chest cavity; parts of his chest were visibly swollen with darkening skin around the injuries.

Dora took notice of Andrew's presence and nodded at his direction.

"Hey," she greeted, "Glad to see one of you still standing. So how'd the catch and release go?"

He grabbed another chair from nearby and sat next to Dora with his chest on the chair's backside.

"What can I tell you? Grandpa just went all out berserk, didn't even bothered to sneak around or anything which was a little different from the norm."

Dora chuckled nervously. "It's getting too old for these games of hide and seek…"

"Or too smart. It was weird, Grandpa is not the kind to just jump out and attack; it likes messing around with us too much for that. I'll never forget the time it hid under the snow and grabbed Joe's ankles from below, _Christ_ did that scare the crap out of me. Those guys from the _Oasis_ came right after I was done tying it up…"

"They weren't with you? You didn't wait for them?"

"They were taking too long! I just figured we could in and out and get it over with."

She threw her head back in disbelief. "_Christ_, Andrew! You know better than to disobey protocol! I don't care if they take two years to get there, you wait!"

"Woman! Don't you think I know? Fuck you, I don't see you suiting up and going on the field missions, you don't anything about how those things are close up. All day with a screen in front of you, you won't learn anything that way."

"I know not to go into the 'lion's den' with only one other person unlike some jerkasses that caused their friend their arm!"

Andrew snapped out of his anger and looked at Winnie on the other side. Her medical attire had blood splattered all over the middle section.

"It's an amputation operation," Dora solemnly explained. "Winnie couldn't do anything to save his arm, it was just too damaged."

Andrew dug his face into his hands. "Fuck…"

"Once she's done we'll discuss when to call a craft to get him out of here, then schedule for the next guy to come."

"I don't want to go through that habitation procedure again, it took Johann three months to get used to this place. He's only been here for a year. I thought he could handle it…"

Dora shrugged. "You should have followed protocol then, this whole thing could have been avoided…but that's a big _if_. Maybe I'm misjudging you and whatever you did was for the best but just looking at Johann tells me there was something you didn't do right. Maybe it _was_ Johann's fault, hot-blooded men can do stupid things. Then again, maybe I shouldn't have sent him; he's inexperienced with Grandpa, he didn't know how to handle it. I just didn't want to send Joe, he's too aggressive with them, he wouldn't think twice about killing them but now that I look back on it maybe I should have."

She sighed and got out of her chair and kneeled in front of Andrew. She could see a slight look of guilt on his face.

"Hey, we're all going to end up doing stupid shit, to ourselves and others. Just remember Johann was very much aware of what he was agreeing to do."

She leaned forward and kissed Andrew's lips. He didn't hesitate to respond to her advances.

"Don't tell your fiancé," she whispered when their mouths parted.

Andrew knew that she always said that even though he knew better than to do so, maybe it was so he wouldn't forget yet it was more of a playful reminder of what he was getting into. He didn't mind the challenge, in fact, juggling two women made it exciting; as long as he kept his mouth shut this would work out for him.

Winnie was finishing up and Dora walked over to the door that separated the operating room from her. The medic went to clean the blood off her hands while the computer printed out a document; she put it in a yellow folder and went to the door where she whispered something into the woman's ear before handing her the folder. They bid goodbye and Winnie was left in the other room with Andrew.

She gave him a sly look.

"She's a man-eater you know."

Andrew smiled back deviously, "You have _no idea_…" He gave a long, content whistle.

Winnie shook her head with a smile. "Glad to know you make her feel like a teenager again. Just wait though what goes around comes around. How do you know you fiancé is not double-crossing _you_?"

"She isn't, I have her wrapped around my finger with a few 'I love you' s'. It will break her heart if she broke mine. Besides, it's not like I'm going to break off my engagement anytime soon for Dora. It's a physical thing, she wants hers and I want mine. It's a win-win deal."

"Just don't boast around the rest of the guys, they're already suspicious."

"Like I give a damn about what they think…they're allowed to leave with permission, Joe's been known to frequent the red light district." He stretched his sore arms before asking, "So what's that you gave Dora?"

"Just some data on the bite wound. She needs any and all information on the Xenomorphs including injuries by them and psychological damage that could manifest itself on the victim."

He looked at Johann lying on the operating table; blood still seeped from underneath the covers.

"Think Johann will have any of that 'psychological damage' thing? I mean, he got played around pretty bad…"

Winnie sighed, "A high probability, I'll keep a close eye on him for you. But who knows, there have been cases where some guys will walk away like they just fell from a swing; shaken but not stirred, others will have to be put on medication to control the flashbacks for the rest of their lives. Johann has been out since you brought him here, first due to blood loss then the anesthetic, I don't think he's even aware that his arm is missing. It's going to be quite a shock when he does, probably would do more mental damage than the actual attack. Grandpa sure did a number on him."

"I think it's getting as bored with it as we are. Back and forth, back and forth, catch and release, catch and release… It gets boring after the umpteenth time you know."

"Well I rarely set foot outside, except for when warmer weather comes, so I tend to enjoy you guy's stories from it. It entertains me."

"More like getting a weird kick out of it… Trade ya jobs then."

Winnie laughed with a mocking hand gesture. "Ha, in less than a week we'd both end up dead. I wouldn't survive more than 30 seconds against those things, even _with_ the best arsenal; and I doubt you'll live with all the nagging of every little ailment we'd give you."

"C'mon, we don't complain _that_ much."

"Oh you _don't_? I'm putting mothers with colic infants to shame here."

Winnie gestured Andrew to follow her out. "C'mon," she said, "I think there's still some coffee left from this morning and meanwhile you can tell what happened over there."

Andrew smiled at the fact of receiving one of Winnie's cups. "Sounds good to me, just a bit uneasy about leaving Johann though. Heh, I'm starting to feel guilty here."

Andrew went into the hall with Winnie's arm around his shoulder. Out of respect (and the fact that he didn't want to look weak) he didn't say anything even though the woman's weight was slightly painful on his sore muscles.

"So when's Johann leaving?" Andrew felt brave enough to ask.

Winnie thought about it for a moment with lost eyes. "I'm not sure; we have to wait until he comes to then a few extra days for him to get used to his new disability. After that, it could go both ways."

As they walked down the hall Andrew was retelling their encounter with the Xenomorph, adding a little bit more flair for the sake of the woman's entertainment. She listened full heartedly with the same wide-eyed enchantment of a child.

A dull scream brusquely interrupted their conversation. It was deaden from the thickness of the walls but loud enough to reach their ears. They stopped, listening attentively for any signs of the origin of the sound but only when Andrew's name was called out did they figured it was Joe from the garage. His voice sounded panicky so he ran as quickly as he could to see what was the cause of his rushed concern, leaving Winnie behind him.

He found Joe madly pacing back and forth, wielding a large crowbar in one hand and looking at Andrew's snowmobile like it was a rabid dog. The nervous man threw his arms in the air screaming, "_I knew it! I fucking knew it_!"

"_What the fuck man_?" Andrew yelled back trying to figure our what the commotion was all about.

Joe pointed at the trunk again with the crowbar.

"In there man! Shit!"

He grabbed Andrew's arm, handing him a slim metal pole, and carefully – almost hesitantly – edged closer to the trunk and pointed with the crowbar at the inside.

Andrew slowly peeked his head out to get a better view at the inside and what he saw made him jump back in fright.

"_GODDAMN_!"

There on the corner of the trunk, snuggled within a thick layer of resin, was a small, leathery Alien egg.


	3. One Plus One is Three

CHAPTER 3 – One Plus One is Three

"Tip it over! We'll beat it when it falls out," said Joe nervously.

Andrew went to the other side of the snowmobile, parting his face as far away from it as possible, half-shielding it with one hand, and began to kick its side. The vehicle wobbled back and forth a couple of times but it was not until he put all his strength into the last kick did it fell on its side with a loud crash.

At that moment Winnie appeared from the door.

"What the _hell_ is going on in here?" She seriously thought the two men had gone crazy.

"Winnie get back!" Joe yelled, motioning her to stay back with his hand.

Andrew kicked the undercarriage but no egg came out. The resin was holding the egg on tightly. Neither man dared to get closer to pry it loose.

"_You_ do something now!" said Andrew.

Joe sighed. "If only I had my gun, I'd blow the damn thing up! Keep kicking it!"

"It ain't working! Hell!" He went behind the undercarriage, grabbing a large plate and holding it out like a shield, banging the trunk out with all his strength. The force of his impact left deep dents but the egg refused to budge.

Winnie carefully made her way around the commotion to satisfy her own curiosity at what they were trying to beat the living daylights out of. She kneeled down in front of the trunk to get a better look.

Andrew gasped at the sight of Winnie so dangerously close to the trunk.

"Goddammit woman! Get out of the way!" he spat.

Winnie balked at the sight of the egg but at her low angle she lost her balance and fell on a pile of rubber hoses. The egg squirmed; Winnie covered her face, letting out a squeal as Andrew jumped protectively in front of her not sure of how he was going to protect both her and himself from the pounce of the dreaded facehugger.

Yet nothing happened.

Feeling a bit daring, Joe walked closer and poked the eggs with the crowbar, his legs coiled like a spring if he needed to run. The egg squirmed, reacting to the touch, but otherwise remained dulled.

Suddenly the egg made an odd sound – similar to that of intestinal gas – and its flaps slowly opened. From its slick cavity spewed a pathetic sight: a malformed facehugger with its spindly legs curled up over its abdomen and a tail bending at a sick angle. It looked emancipated and smelled horribly.

For a few moments it seemed that the entire world went silent. They stood frozen like statues, unable to move, their muscles refusing to collaborate until their brains registered what just happened.

Joe was the first to break the silence with a nervous chuckle. He wasn't sure whether to be amused or insulted at the face hugger's incompetence.

Andrew let out a breath of air he didn't knew he was holding in.

"Oh fuck…" His lips curled to a small smile before he broke out in laughter. The situation had been like a horror film except that instead of a wolf man to terrorize, a Chihuahua had been cast instead.

Winnie buried her face in her hands when Andrew laughed and shook her head wildly, almost trying to shake the fear of only a few moments ago.

"It's a dud!" she exclaimed. "Dear god that was insane…"

Andrew let his body fall down on the rubber hoses next to Winnie. "_Insane_? A fucking miracle! Oh god, I almost pissed my pants…" He let out a whooping sigh. "I have _no_ idea what I would have done… A facehugger, I've only seen those things dead in jars. Man, facing that egg as it opened…all those bad visions from the stories about them just flooded my mind and all I could think was _Oh my God I'm going to get face-fucked!_ Whoo…"

Joe leaned on the wall letting the crowbar fall out of his hand. He lightly kicked the lifeless facehugger.

"Thank god it's not alive…must've been a fluke of some sort. We lucked out on this one." He turned to Andrew. "Did you even bothered to check all your equipment before you left?" he asked bitterly but with an undertone of calm. "Well, I hope you-all had a damn good laugh about it 'cause this is telling me you were pretty damn careless. You didn't even bothered, did you? Just grabbed the stuff and came back not caring if you had a fucking drone in your trunk."

Joe took one last look at the fallen facehugger and spat on it as he jogged out the door, muttering insults to both the creature and Andrew under his breath.

"Asshole," Andrew muttered bitterly at Joe's back. Winnie asked if he was all right.

"Yeah, I'm fine…Grandpa gave us a worse scare than this reject. Happy Easter Johann, we found the egg…" he chuckled to himself.

Suddenly he sat up. The egg. Grandpa. He remembered Grandpa carrying those large protrusions on its back, the ones Johann thought were tumors. They looked exactly like the ones on his trunk: small, organic, bulb-like structures… A scary thought dawned on him: those weren't tumors Grandpa had, it was carrying eggs!

Breaths escaped him at the thought but did not want to say a word to alarm Winnie unnecessarily.

Winnie, still in the euphoria of the laughing streak, got up to her feet and wiped her coat clean of the garage's dirty floor then brushed her graying hair with her fingers.

"You still laughing?" He was surprised that Winnie hadn't caught on yet.

"You still scared?" she retorted. "C'mon, it's dead! It's not like it's going to jump our of our faces anytime soon…We might as well destroy it in the lab's furnace, the only thing strong enough to break up this creature." She happily mused at the thought, to think that these things were confused as spiders when they weren't even remotely similar to arachnids.

"It's not that. Winnie, _who_ laid this egg?" His statement was direct with no question in his tone.

Her face paled as her eyes on the fallen creature turned to disgust and horror.

"Oh God no…" Her lips curved to a nervous smile. "Naw, you don't think…"

" – ing _swear_ Joe is going to hear one from me if he drags me out like that again! If it's not Xenomorphs running about then I don't want to hear it! God! Bitching about getting my ass down here then runs off to get his gun as if a bloody Queen was here…He's turning senile faster than Winnie, I swear. Okay guys, Joe told me to see you and it better be good because I – _Holy shit!_"

Dora had just entered the garage so into her fuming that she didn't even notice the facehugger until she was mere feet from it. She took a jump back, clutching her mouth with one hand while pointing at it wildly with the other.

"Whoa! What the _hell_?" What the fuck is going on?"

Winnie extended her hand to the facehugger. Dora warned her but the older woman explained that it was dead and to prove so she picked it up by it's slimy tail, the creature's body hanging limply underneath it, and waved it around a bit.

The sight was odd yet highly amusing for Dora. She felt a bit more relaxed at the fact that all of them had dodged one nasty bullet that time but was still wary at how that thing had been brought here.

The sound of a gun being cocked indicated that Joe had returned with his favorite rifle at hand. He held the weapon at the facehugger. Winnie dropped it immediately, afraid that Joe might shoot it clean off her hand, and the creature hit the floor with a wet slap.

"Joe, put that thing away for Christ sake! It's dead Joe! It's dead…as in not alive! _As in you don't need that gun to kill it because it's already dead_!"

He shook his head, refusing to put the gun down. "I don't fucking care…I – " He swallowed, not sure what excuse to give to his actions. He didn't want to outright say he was scared of that thing, his pride wouldn't allow him, yet the soft quivering of his muscles and the light twitching of his sweaty face told more than words.

With a deep breath he put to gun down, looking away shamed that he held a weapon at Winnie.

The air around them seemed to have loosened its hold and a more relaxed feeling crept in. The false danger had passed and all that was left to do was to asses the situation.

Dora rubbed the back of her neck trying to ease her tense muscles.

"Ok, we're all cool now…we're cool. We just have a Xenomorph egg and a dead facehugger right in front of us. Now could someone _please_ explain to me what the _fuck_ is going on? Joe? Andrew? Anybody? C'mon, don't act stupid with me. If you are hiding something –"

"We're not hiding anything." Said Andrew in a stern voice. He hated to be accused of something he didn't do, even if it was indirectly. "You want to know what's going on? Well so do we. That's why Joe got you. You're the Xenobiologist, you tell _us_."

Dora shot him a jaded glare, not amused at his sarcasm. "Hey, I was the one that was dragged off my ass by _trigger-happy_ over here." She pointed at Joe. "Then I come in and there's a freaking facehugger on the floor! You have to excuse me if I'm still missing the punch line but at this point I still can't put two and two together here."

Andrew sighed and looked away, his face tense. He could feel all the other's eyes on him as if he was withholding from them. Only Johann and Andrew were witness to what happened between the snowmobiles and the Xenomorph, and Johann wasn't here.

He shot his arms in the air in mock defeat. "Look, I don't anything new. You-all know just as much as I do. I already told you what happened with Grandpa and Johann and all that crap… _You_ put that information together! I-I don't know…"

As soon as eyes fell back on the dead facehugger his thoughts returned to his earlier judgment in the situation and Grandpa but thought that formal talk about bugs was out of his league, like a mild taboo. With Dora – a specialized Xenobiologist - in front of him he felt a bit intimidated; he was only a grunt who knew how to shoot, she had the entire Xenomorph encyclopedia in her head. What could he say that she didn't already know?

He looked at Winnie. She gave him a nervous smile and darted her eyes away. She felt the same incompetence as he. Knowing that the medic knew less about it that he did he decide to just regurgitate the information and let Dora decipher it.

"Dora, I…" He knew he was going to sound stupid. "Listen, now I don't know much about Aliens except where they hurt the most but I _do_ know where Alien eggs come from…"

That got her attention. Before that moment she was so preoccupied with the commotion that she wasn't even thinking about the origins of the facehugger and her mind reeled in mixed fear and joy at what she was allowing him to say.

"Goddammit_! There might be a Queen over there_! That may be why Grandpa was acting all fucked up! Those things on its back, it was carrying eggs. It couldn't drag us to the nest so it brought the eggs to us. A walking nanny… It attacked us, no, attacked Johann, but first the snowmobiles…Oh fuck. It set us up! The snowmobiles, it put an egg in it then destroyed the other one. We _had_ to take mine…Oh my god…"

Andrew lowered his head in shame at the realization that he had been tricked but an oversized bug. His head shot back up. "It wasn't my fault!"

"_Yes it is_!" retaliated Joe. "You brought the damn thing in here because you were to lazy to check your equipment!"

"I had to take Johann back! His arm! There wasn't time!"

"You had time to hook up his junk but not to check your stuff? Bullshit!"

"Fuck you! _What would you have done_?"

"Make sure there aren't any fucking Alien eggs in my trunk that's for sure!"

Winnie intervened. "Damn it! _Will you boys quit it_? It's _over_, ok? Andrew did a mistake –"

"That could have killed us!" Spat Joe but Winnie paid not attention to him and continued as if she had been uninterrupted.

" – but we lucked out so no harm done. I'll take the thing back to the lab and burn the bastard."

She turned to Joe. "Joe, there is no reason to hide this incident from HQ but I would appreciate for the sake for many of us to consider _sugar-coating_ the details."

"Tell them there's a Queen!" Dora cried out. "They'll be sure to send a team then! We'll have permission to go inside the nest!"

"No. No Queen. Wait, go _inside_ the nest? Are you mad? No. Joe, no Queen. There's little proof of a Queen so let's not jump to conclusions or anything."

Dora scoffed. "You can't deny there isn't a Queen in there. The odd behavior, the eggs, the freaking facehugger…"

"She has a point Winnie." Andre said. "We can't sweep _that _fact under the rug. HQ _has_ to know about it."

"You _want_ to get deported, do you? Ok, we don't want to raise a commotion so we'll – "

"No." uttered Joe.

Winnie looked at him. "What?"

"No. HQ will _not_ know about this. You're right Winnie, there is no harm done so there is no reason to contact HQ about it. I'm the last person that likes the idea of withholding information such as this from HQ, after all it's our job and I'm assigned that all facts and data are taken into consideration, but I know the pen-pushers will pry their ugly noses in and eventually find out about the egg and facehugger. Even though the creature is dead the mere fact that it got in here will get us – and especially me – in an immeasurable amount of trouble. It would cause or jobs, our reputation…maybe even our lives. So I greatly urge you take into consideration about keeping this in a low profile."

"What?" Winnie asked with a slight scoff of disbelief.

"Did I stutter at any point? I said we are not reporting this to HQ. Do you want to have your memories fried? You know what happens to those that mess up and live; they either don't live for long or they mess with their brains. I don't know about you but neither choice right now seems very appealing to me. Keep your mouth shut and your heart keeps beating."

"But that's a major violation of protocol! As the director of this colony you cannot challenge the policies so you can save the skin on your ass. You serious cannot be considering such a course of action."

"You mean lack thereof. We are going to pretend this never happened; Andrew checked his equipment and it was all clear. There is no egg in his trunk. The face hugger never appeared. Understood?"

"I don't think this is wise and – "

"Winnie, shut up."

Winnie tensed her eyebrows but said no other words.

Andrew interjected. "Personally, I like the skin on my ass Winnie. I've heard things about those brain-drain operations and that's something I pray never to experience."

Winnie looked at Dora for some sort of support from her side but the woman simply looked away from her.

The medic walked out of the garage, her footsteps echoing lightly in the large room.

It was a few moments before Joe spoke again.

"Dora, check the video feeds, if there is any footage with a hint if this I want you to erase it completely from the hard drive. No trace of it whatsoever."

Dora nodded almost hesitantly. "What if the higher-ups ask about the missing timelines?" She avoided looking at him as she asked, there was a tang of guilt for agreeing to do this but she had to if she wanted to continue with this scientific undertaking.

"Let me take care of them. You just do as you're told. Andrew" – the young man perked his head at the sound of his name – "Don't think that this is over. You may not be formally punished but I'm going to make damn sure you never forget to check your equipment again. Take the thing to the lab's burner then come back here and clean this shit up. There's some battery acid in some canisters in the crate over there along with some protective coverings, use it to burn the egg; outside though, and downwind from here, don't want the stench to come in. Same with Dora, no trace of it; Andrew, you made this mess, you clean it up"

Andrew nodded, relieved that he avoided being at the mercy of HQ even thought the thought of cleaning didn't brighten his mood either, yet he wasn't the kind to look a gift horse in the mouth and complain.

Joe picked up the lifeless facehugger by its tail with the end of his fingers. It was slimy and the stench it produced was overwhelming. Just having the creature touching his skin sent shivers down his spine. He knew how active these creatures could be when alive. They could move with uncanny speed and for a creature with no visible visual organs it could leap with scary precision to their target. Anyone with one of these attached to their face spelt doom, the embryo would develop in a matter of hours – almost always less than a day – then the newborn would chew its way out of its live host and terrorize as one of nature's perfect killing machines. There were those who called it an honor to become part of perfection but Joe thought they were insane for finding honor in being a live nursery to a parasite. Every bug that fell by his hands was a personal victory for him.

The doors of the medical center hissed silently as Andrew walked into the seemingly impossible sterile room reminiscent of a bio-weapons lab than a medical center. Johann was located in this exact same room, recuperating from his surgery under the care of a large plastic dome that monitored his every heartbeat and bodily functions.

The burner was a large box-like contraption protruding halfway through from the wall. The control panel was right adjacent to the burner door and from far away it looked like an oversized microwave except this wasn't used for cooking, it's main purpose was to break down any organic material to its simplest anatomical form then the particles were collected and automatically disposed of.

The burner's door opened with a loud screeching sound. The interior was thick and deep, no light came out of it. It was as welcoming as a crocodile's mouth. Andrew threw the lifeless facehugger in, smacking against the wall of the container with a wet slap. He smelt his slimy hand, gagging at the stench, and wiped the foul goo on his shirt.

He slammed the door but it bounced against the rim and opened. He slammed it again. It simply bounced back open one more time.

"Lousy piece of junk…"

Grabbing the edge of the door he slammed the door shut as hard as he could. The banging sound echoed in the large room…before it swung open.

Andrew let out a frustrated grunt then grabbed the door by the handle and slowly closed it. The door stayed put this time. A sigh of victory escaped his mouth. The burner's figures were sent through the keypad. A loud beep confirmed his order, then he began to exit the room not even giving Johann a glance in his direction for fear that he might feel guilty, he was mad – with a hint of satisfaction – , he didn't want to feel guilty.

The parting doors hissed shut as Andrew stepped out into the hall, unaware that something else grew an interest in Johann.

The burner beeped once angrily as its door slowly swung open. It had not been shut properly.

Inside the darkened cube of the burner, a spindly leg twitched lively…


End file.
